THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE is pleased to announce that the São Toméan artist René Tavares, represented by the gallery, has been selected to participate in Sharjah Biennial 17, "What remains, sits restive", curated by Paula Nascimento and Angela Harutyunyan opening on January 21, 2027.
René Tavares’ inclusion in the Biennial marks an important moment for both the artist and the gallery, reaffirming THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE’s commitment to supporting internationally recognised artistic practices engaged with urgent social, historical, and cultural dialogues. Born in São Tomé and Príncipe and based in Lisbon, Tavares has developed a multidisciplinary practice that critically examines identity, colonial legacies, and the cultural narratives that continue to shape contemporary societies. Through painting, drawing, installation, and archival research, his work creates spaces where personal and shared histories intersect. His participation in the Biennial further underscores the growing international recognition of an artistic practice that offers nuanced reflections on heritage, belonging, and the complexities of postcolonial experience.
Bringing together 109 participants across multiple venues in the emirate of Sharjah, the Biennial reflects on the persistence of historical memory, cultural residues, and the ways in which past and present continuously intersect. Within Paula Nascimento’s curatorial framework, where Tavares is included, the invited artists explore how space, infrastructure, and collective memory shape contemporary experience and new forms of cultural understanding. In parallel, Angela Harutyunyan’s curatorial approach traces the afterlives of socialist modernity, viewed from the peripheries of modernisation and anti-colonial struggles, opening further perspectives on the enduring entanglements between history, ideology, and contemporary cultural realities.
Sharjah Biennial 17 will take place from January 21 to June 13 2027.
8 June 2026
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